


Love Bug

by that_one_urchin



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Cupid - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Mutual Pining, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23696467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_one_urchin/pseuds/that_one_urchin
Summary: “Cupid.” Hope says by way of explanation, gesturing to the brunette currently clinging to her body.“Oh.” Alaric stares at the man with the arrows and then at Josie’s death grip on Hope. “That makes sense.”
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 31
Kudos: 736





	Love Bug

**Author's Note:**

> I owe this idea to my friend on Tumblr (g3ae). It’s about time I wrote a Cupid one shot

Hope sees a lot of weird shit on her runs. It’s probably because she runs circles around a school filled with witches, vampires, and werewolves (and a single Phoenix, in Landon’s case). Sometimes she runs straight into the monster of the week and deals with it on her own, but mostly it’s just harmless, after-curfew parties. 

Tonight is one of the weirder nights. Not because Hope sees a mermaid or a yeti or something equally ridiculous, but because she accidentally bumps into two horny, kissing teenagers. 

One being MG and the other being Kaleb. 

“Oh- uh.” Hope says awkwardly. She had no idea either of them were into boys or each other, last she checked MG only had eyes for Lizzie. “Oh.” 

She also had no idea they were that into each other. Seriously, they haven’t even stopped kissing and it’s been a solid minute of Hope standing there tripping over her own words. She at least expected them to stop with her there, but Kaleb is just working his hand up MG’s shirt and- okay, Hope needs to leave right now. 

Hope backs away and tries her hardest to disappear into the woods. She wonders if there’s a party going on somewhere she doesn’t know about and this was all a result of a spell or alcohol, or maybe she just doesn’t pay as much attention to her friends as she thought she did. 

Her mind is still running over the options when a figure goes by her - a flash of white and something shiny that sort of looked arrow shaped. Hope tenses, her brain caught between the two possibilities that she’s going insane or she just saw a man with wings run full speed past her. Both are justifiable. She’s definitely gone through enough to have lost her mind by now. 

Something suddenly comes at her. She ducks quickly enough that it zooms past her shoulder and when she’s safely recovered, she checks what it is. An arrow. An arrow that rapidly dissolves right in front of her eyes.

“Hello?” Hope questions. No response comes. 

Great. 

Monsters almost never say hello back, they’re more prone to lurking in the shadows. 

A pair of wings (yes, Hope is completely sure now that those are wings) spread about a yard in front of her, startlingly white against the darkness. The creature stands up, revealing that it’s actually a man - well, a man with wings and disappearing arrows. 

Hope puts two and two together pretty quickly. “Cupid?” 

Maybe Cupid grins at her before taking off in the direction of the school. Hope only hesitates for a moment, then she breaks into a sprint and goes after what is only a blurry figure in the trees. As soon as Hope almost catches up with him, he kicks off the ground and launches into the air. She watches him soar above the woods, going about as fast as Hope with his wings. 

By the time Hope reaches the school, she’s slightly out of breath and Cupid is squatting near a bush - muscles pulled taught, bow in hand, arrow set and aimed at Josie. 

Hope tackles him without another thought. 

They wrestle for a minute before Hope knocks the bow out of his hand and does a quick spell. Cupid freezes under her, body instantly going rigid. Once she’s sure that he’s going to stay as stiff as a board, Hope brushes herself off and looks for the arrow he had been trying to shoot. She takes about two steps before Josie is in front of her, standing entirely too close with how they’re out in the open like this.

Hope takes a single step back, noting how Josie’s smile is misplaced and almost creepily wide. 

Josie just steps forward again. 

“What are you doing out here?” Hope asks, choosing to ignore how Josie’s intoxicating scent has swept its way into her nose. “It’s dark out. And cold.” 

Hope looks over the pajama set Josie has on. Very small, purple shorts and a big shirt that’s way too thin for Josie to be wearing right now. Hope would usually think that this outfit is cute (and she does still notice how adorable it is, because Josie has the sleeves pulled down around her hands and that’s so endearing it makes Hope’s heart ache), but she’s more focused on the goosebumps starting to raise along Josie’s legs. 

“I wanted to see you.” Josie says simply. She leans forward so their noses brush and Hope scrambles away, blushing furiously.

“Are you okay?” Hope asks at about the same time Alaric comes marching out to ask Josie that exact question. 

Josie barely spares her dad a glance before wrapping her arms around Hope’s waist and nuzzling her chin along the top of Hope’s head. Once she’s properly situated, she looks back at Alaric. 

“I’m perfect.” Josie’s voice is on level one hundred of the cheery scale. 

Alaric eyes his daughter warily before setting his gaze on Hope for answer. Hope is honestly not sure she’s going to be great at helping at the moment, because her mind is still slowly working through a thunderstorm of Josie’s smell, her very soft hair, and every other detail about Josie that Hope usually tries to avoid. She manages to point a thumb behind her, where she hopes Cupid is still laying down.

“Cupid.”

“Oh.” Alaric stares at the man and then at Josie’s death grip on Hope. “That makes sense.”

Both Alaric and Hope make a combined effort to pry Josie out of the hug, before someone gets strangled from all of the affection.

Hope feels a little cold without Josie clinging to her, but she ignores it. She has other things to worry about. There is still a paralyzed Cupid laying around on the ground and she’s pretty sure that Josie (and probably Kaleb and MG) got hit with some type of intense love arrow. 

It’s sort of the worst time for this, because she’s tired and it’s nearing midnight. Plus, this doesn’t seem like the type of monster that gets killed super easily. If it actually were a yeti, then Hope could snap its neck or something and be done with enough time to get a good night’s sleep. Now, she has to figure out how to un-arrow three of her friends while dealing with Josie’s distractions. 

“Hope, you want to deal with him?” Alaric gestures to Cupid’s body and Hope nods. “Take him down to the cellar and I’ll get Josie back to her room.”

Hope crouches down and tries to do just that, but Josie stands right next to her and slips their hands together. It feels nice and all, but Alaric is there and Hope is trying to carry the monster of the week into the school, so Hope gently pulls her hand away. This doesn’t work at all, because Josie pouts before going for Hope’s hand again. 

“Josie, I have to pick him up.” Hope explains, trying her hardest not to let any emotion at all leak into her voice. She isn’t sure if Josie would burst into tears at a bit of harshness or start jumping in excitement at a kind word. 

Josie bounces on her toes almost nervously. “Can I hold your hand after?” 

Hope glances down at Cupid, seeing his mouth frozen in a straight line. She thinks that if he could move he would be smirking at her right now. Finally, Hope sighs and looks at Alaric for some sort of permission before nodding. 

“Sure, Jo.”

Josie looks ecstatic.

This would be a dream come true if there wasn’t a slightly glazed look in Josie’s eyes and if Hope didn’t know all of Josie’s love was coming from an arrow. Hope has had a little (really, totally small) crush on Josie for about two months now. It’s not like a huge deal or anything, it just kind of eats into her sleep because she spends her nights tossing and turning restlessly, usually thinking about something adorable Josie did in class.

It’s really not a big part of Hope’s life now. Nothing to mention at all. 

All four of them end up in the cellar, Cupid behind bars with Alaric and Hope standing right near the lock protectively. Josie is lingering behind them (more accurately: lingering behind Hope), her right hand holding Hope’s left. Hope is trying to get her menacing face on for when the spell wears off and Josie definitely isn’t helping. 

“Well, I think I’m going to make a sandwich.” Alaric says through a yawn. The caged monster and affectionate girls don’t really need a chaperone. “Do either of you want anything?” 

“I have everything I could ever need.” Josie replies immediately, squeezing Hope’s hand. 

Alaric shifts from foot to foot, standing uncomfortably in the doorway. He clearly meant food, but Josie’s mind is on a whole other planet right now. 

“I’m sort of hungry.” Hope shrugs. She could go for a late night turkey sandwich or an apple.

Josie lets go of her hand all of a sudden. Hope spins around quickly. After having Josie cling to her for a solid ten minutes, it’s a bit jarring to have Josie just pull away like that. 

“I’ll make you something.” Josie announces. Hope is about to protest when Josie leans down and kisses her cheek, making Hope a little speechless. 

There’s a grin and a wave and then Josie is gone, leaving an awkward looking Alaric in the room. His mouth opens and closes repeatedly for a second before he gives up on talking and goes after his daughter. 

Feeling the sudden comfort of being alone, Hope presses her fingertips to her tingling cheek and releases a sigh when she feels the damp warmth there.

“Pretty powerful stuff, huh?” A smooth voice says from behind her, cocky and low and unfamiliar. 

Oh, right. She’s not alone. 

Hope straightens, trying and probably failing to seem like anything less than a lovesick teenager. Even as she uses her best glare on Cupid, he fixes her with a sly, oddly perfect grin. 

“Yeah.” Hope agrees with him - it does seem pretty powerful. She weighs her options for the first question, Malivore or love arrows. “How do I reverse the arrow’s effects?” 

“Simple. You let me out of here and I’m on it.” Cupid says. He’s very charming and friendly looking, but Hope isn’t stupid. 

“There’s no way that’s happening.”

They both stare at each other for a long moment. Cupid stays slumped against the bars, smiling lazily, while Hope tries her best to look taller and glares him down until his smile cracks. He groans, rubbing the side of his face. 

“I don’t know why you would want to get rid of the effects. That girl is pretty.” Cupid tilts his head, his gaze running over Hope. “And I get the sense you’re not straight, so there’s no reason to complain. Enjoy it. Drink a piña colada. Let me out.”

Hope grits her teeth (she does consider it for a moment, but it wouldn’t be right if Josie is under some spell - consent is important). “Just tell me what to do.” 

“Fine.” 

That’s how Hope ends up in the woods again, sandwich-less and tired, looking for a plant. Apparently, she needs to find a rare herb that is supposed to be pretty hard to spot because of its multiple colors. Cupid described the petals and leaves well though, so Hope is sure that she could find it if it wasn’t still nighttime. She’s currently wandering around in the dark like an idiot, eyes on the ground in hopes of coming across the plant. 

The stupid plant has to be picked at midnight and given to Josie before the sun comes up or the effects could be permanent. 

When Hope is sure that she’s been out there long enough that it’s almost midnight, she ditches the flashlight and decides that maybe she can find it better as a wolf. Her eyes are glowing red and her claws are starting to peak out when she sees movement. It isn’t stealthy like Cupid, it’s sort of slow and obvious. The only thing that keeps Hope from jumping on the figure is Josie’s familiar scent and… cookies?

“Josie?” Hope calls uncertainly. Surely Alaric has enough of a handle on his daughter to not let her wander out into the woods with baked goods.

“Hi.” Josie says, stepping into view and smiling like they just ran into each other at breakfast.

Hope apparently overestimated Alaric. Or underestimated the power of Josie and those arrows. Either way, this is getting almost too bizarre for Hope to deal with. 

“What are you doing out here?” Hope asks - and okay, she sounds like a dick this time. 

Josie frowns at the floor. “Looking for you. What are you doing?” 

Okay, so Hope was right. That arrow made Josie a bit sensitive. Knowing that, Hope exhales and lets whatever frustration she felt leave along with her breath. She’s just happy that this time Josie has a coat on and probably has cookies hidden somewhere in one of the pockets. 

“I’m actually getting you a plant.” Hope explains, making Josie brighten instantly. 

“A flower?”

“Sure.” She nods, because Josie has puppy dog eyes and Hope isn’t heartless. 

Josie squeals in the happy way she hasn’t done since elementary school and throws herself into Hope’s arms. Hope exhales heavily through her nose to try and keep the scent out, and carefully untangles herself from Josie. The hug feels like heaven, but they still need to find the plant before it hits midnight. At least now Hope doesn’t have to rush back to the school to get to Josie. 

“I brought you cookies.” Josie says, starting to go through her pockets. She hands Hope a bag of chocolate chip cookies a second later. 

Hope wonders how Josie made those cookies so fast, but then she remembers that they’re both witches and have literal magic.

“Thank you.” Hope replies, not being able to keep the smile off of her face as she takes a cookie and bites down on it. Josie beams at her and links their hands.

“I love you.” Josie blurts.

Hope’s mouth opens and then falls closed when she realizes she’s not sure what to say. She knows what she feels - but if she’s going to say it she’s not going to say it when Josie is hyped up on arrow love.

“I know.” She ends up replying, feeling like a complete asshole when Josie’s face falls. 

There’s no time to feel bad. Hope turns away from Josie’s pout and starts walking off, sure that Josie will follow. Unsurprisingly, she barely gets five steps before Josie is at her side and speaking again.

“Don’t you want me?” 

Hope thinks that Josie has terrible timing. She squeezes her eyes shut and tries to keep her cool, because she does not want to have this conversation in this situation. Hope is about to tell Josie very gently that they can talk about all of this later, but then she hears a button being popped and her eyes snap open.

She takes one glance at Josie and her face turns bright red. Josie has her hands on the front of her coat and is slowly reaching for the second button on her coat, but the first one has already revealed enough. Hope sees a lot of smooth tan skin, the slopes of Josie’s collarbones, and the dip of her cleavage. Hope’s breath catches in her throat as Josie unbuttons the second button and reveals that she’s not wearing a shirt under the coat.

Though Hope isn’t proud of it, her first thought is: holy fucking shit take the whole coat off. 

Then Hope swallows, recollecting herself, and pries her eyes away. “Uh- Josie. You can’t do that.” 

“Why?” Josie questions, as if she isn’t about to strip in the middle of the woods. She grabs Hope’s arm and pushes her enough that Hope has to turn and watch. “Aren’t you attracted to me?”

The third button goes. 

Hope makes a strangled, dying bird noise in the back of her throat and clenches her fists at her sides to avoid touching all of the newly exposed skin. Since when does Josie have abs? That’s unfair and incredibly sexy and- totally not the point right now.

Focus.

“I-I am.” Hope wants to punch herself. Her face is hot and she’s stuttering. “But we can’t take our clothes off right now because… because I still have to eat my cookies and get you your flower.” 

Josie considers this for a moment before nodding. Hope thinks that she’s gotten out of any further embarrassment, but then Josie takes it upon herself to put her hands firmly on Hope’s shoulders and kiss her. 

It’s a relatively short kiss - no tongue, just a press of lips - but it feels like everything to Hope. Her stomach is doing cartwheels and her heartbeat has become loud as thunder. Hope rests her hands on Josie’s hips for balance as her body tries to cling to the feeling of soft lips on hers. She wants to lean forward and take a second kiss, but she holds back. 

They’re on a mission and besides, it would be wrong for Hope to get carried away with Josie in this state. 

“You’re going to get cold.” Hope comments, her voice barely above a whisper. She begins buttoning up Josie’s coat for her, not even bothering to keep the little smile off her lips as she does. Once Hope is done, she affectionately pats Josie’s side and wraps her arm around Josie’s waist.

Josie’s cheeks flush at the loving gesture.

Adorable.

It takes about five minutes of them wandering around (always touching in some way, because Hope tried to wipe cookie crumbs off her mouth once and Josie actually looked close to crying) for them to find what Hope thinks is the plant. She’s glad that they stumbled upon it, because it’s been a lot harder to look with Josie and cookie related distractions. 

Hope kneels down in front of the light yellow flowers and plucks one out of the ground. She inspects it for a moment with a frown, noting that it doesn’t look particularly magical, but when she holds it up Josie’s smile triples in size.

“A primrose?” Josie asks, looking insanely excited when Hope nods hesitantly. “Aww. You know it symbolizes eternal love.”

Hope sputters, but she’s suddenly locked in another kiss with Josie. It makes her head spin so much that she can only really be sure of one fact: Cupid totally set her up.


End file.
